EXPERIMENT NO.

-4
Aim: To study the construction and working of 2- stroke petrol / diesel engine.

Theory: in this engine the cycle is completed in 2- strokes of the piston or in one revolution
of crankshaft. The preparatory strokes (suction and exhaust) are combined with the working
strokes (compression and expansion). In 2- stroke engines, instead of valves ports are used
for suction and exhaust purposes. As the moving parts are less; mechanical efficiency is high.
But thermal efficiency of the engine is lower due to some charge escaping without burning,
through the exhaust port. Also, in 2 stroke engines, as the power is available once in every
revolution of the crankshaft, flywheel required is less in weight and small in size.

Two Stroke Petrol Engine:

Fig. 2.1 shows a two stroke petrol engine. It has no valves but consists of inlet
or induction port (IP), exhaust port (EP), and a third port called the transfer port (TP).
Referring to the fig. 2.1 (a) let the piston be nearing the completion of its compression stroke.
The ignition starts due the spark given by the spark plug and the piston is pushed down (fig.
(b) and (c) ) performing the working strokes and in doing so the air fuel mixture already
drawn from the inlet port in the previous stroke is compressed to a pressure of about 1.4 bar.
When about 4/5th of this stroke is completed the exhaust port (EP) is uncovered slightly and
some of the burning gases escape to the atmosphere. Immediately afterwards as the exhaust
port is uncovered by the further downward movement of the piston, the transfer port which is
only very slightly lower than exhaust port is also uncovered as shown in fig.(d) and a charge
of compressed fuel air mixture enters the cylinder and further pushes out the burnt gases out
of the exhaust port. The top of the piston is made of a particular shape that facilitates the
deflection of fresh charge upwards and thus avoids its escape along with the exhaust gases.
This process is known as scavenging.

After reaching the bottom dead center when the piston moves up, it first closes the inlet port,
then transfer port and then exhaust port. The charge of fuel which previously entered the
cylinder is now compressed. Simultaneously there is a fall of pressure in the crank case,
creating a partial vacuum. When the piston is nearing the upward movement, the inlet port
opens and a fresh charge of air fuel mixture from the carburetor enters the crank case. After
the ignition of the charge, the piston moves down for the power stroke and the cycle is
repeated as before.

Two Stroke Diesel Engine:

In a two stroke cycle C.I. engine all the operations are exactly the same as those in S.I. engine
except that in this case only air is taken in instead of air fuel mixture and the fuel is injected
at the end of compression stroke, a fuel injector being fitted instead of a spark plug.

Applications of Internal Combustion Engines:

The main applications of I.C. engines are:

1. Four stroke petrol engine- light vehicles such as cars, jeeps, motor bikes, and small
generating sets etc.
2. Two stroke petrol engines- very light vehicles such as scooters, mopeds, three
wheelers and portable crop sprayers etc.
 3. Four stroke diesel engine- diesel power plants, heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses,
road rollers, tractors, diesel locomotives and water pumps.
4. Two stroke diesel engine- mainly used in marine engines where lesser weight is the
main consideration.

Comparison between 2- stroke and 4- stroke cycle engine

S. No. Criteria of comparison 2- stroke cycle engine 4- stroke cycle

engine
1. Power stroke One working stroke in One working stroke
each cylinder per in each cylinder per
revolution of crankshaft two revolutions of
crankshaft
2. Weight and size Lighter and compact for Heavier and larger
same power
3. Turning moment Even and more uniform Less uniform
4. Flywheel size Smaller Larger
5. Construction Simpler and easy to More complicated
manufacture due to valve
mechanism
6. Moving parts Few in number More
7. Mechanical efficiency More due to lesser Lesser
moving parts
8. Thermal efficiency Lesser because a part of More
air fuel mixture goes as
waste with the exhaust
gases
9. Noise More Lesser
10. Wear and tear More due to smaller size Less
for the same power
11. Scavenging Required Most efficient
12. Fuel consumption More Less
Fig.4.1 Two Stroke Petrol Engine
Fig.4.2 Two Stroke Diesel Engine